When a puppet breaks on tour with 'Disney's The Lion King' -- a frequent occurrence -- it's his job to fix it

Considering Michael Reilly is the puppet supervisor for the latest tour of "Disney's The Lion King" to come through Cleveland - the show will roar by the shore at PlayhouseSquare's State Theater Tuesday through Aug. 4 - you imagine he is a longtime puppeteer who yearned for years for an amazing opportunity such as this.

In reality, the Toronto native is more of a Mr. Fix-it who sort of wandered into the world of theater during his high school years.

"I went to technical schools, and I learned how to fix cars and paint canvases," says Reilly, on the phone from the tour's stop in Tulsa, Okla. "When I was 16, I fell into the wardrobe in theater. I remember I was dressing 'Cats' at 16 years old."

He went on to work as a professional on more technically advanced shows, he says, such as "Starlight Express." (Among his eclectic list of credits is being an original company member of "The Lord of the Rings" musical.) In 1999, he joined a production of "The Lion King" as assistant puppet master. After that stint ended, the Disney folks continued to keep tabs on him.

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"They kept calling me for the tour, and finally I had nothing going on, so I had to say yes," he says, referring to his current job, which he took more than six years ago.

"The Lion King," which debuted on Broadway in November 1997 under the guidance of Julie Taymor - who served as director, costume designer and mask co-designer - won six Tony Awards the following year, including Best Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical. And while the score, credited mainly to Elton John and Tim Rice, was merely nominated for a Tony, the "Lion King" musicians took home a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Musical Show Album.

These accolades and myriad others aside, the show is well-known for its heavy integration of puppetry to tell the story of young lion Simba, who loses his father, Mufasa, falls in love with cub Nala and battles the evil Scar.

"I think this show opened up a new world of theater and how puppetry could be integrated in the show and not be cheesy or one-note. We have so many different types of puppets," Reilly says. "Our puppets have what we call 'dual events,' where we integrate the puppet with the human. You always see both."

The PlayhouseSquare audience recently experienced another show that handles its puppets the same way, the World War I tale "War Horse," a production of South Africa's Handspring Puppet Co.

"I think they were inspired (by 'Lion King') and saw what's possible," Reilly says. "'War Horse' is a great show and a good example for a technical person like me."

A production of "The Lion King" certainly needs a technical person like him.

"Essentially, there are 23 puppets in the show," he says. "There are masks and animals and different kinds of puppets. Anything that happens to one of those puppets is my responsibility.

"Also, the fit and how they operate on stage is my responsibility. I wear a lot of different hats."

Even after 16 years, producing "The Lion King" is far from an exact science. Reilly, who works closely with the tour's resident director, says they're always looking at ways to make the puppets more durable, to be able to withstand more pressure.

"I've been doing the show almost 13 years, and every day something different will break," he says. "It's just the way it is."

That keeps the job interesting for Reilly.

"It's something different every day," he says. "I guess the downside of that is something is breaking every day.

"And it's a family (on the road)," he continues. "We're a group of more than 100 people traveling with this show. It's pretty special."

"The Lion King" remains special to audiences worldwide, having played in just short of 100 cities in more than 15 countries on every continent except Antarctica, according to a news release for the show. It is the only show, the release states, ever to generate five productions worldwide running 10 or more years.

"(The show has) some classic themes of redemption and rediscovering your destiny and who you are. And, just visually, it's beautiful," he says. "And then you add the South African music.

"All that stuff combines to make the show. I would say, soulful. It's all very engaging and beautiful."